— reliable sources confirm

THE Alliance For Change (AFC) is said to have endorsed a David Granger- Moses Nagamootoo ticket for the next elections, constitutionally due next year.
Through a statement issued at the end of the party’s National Executive Committee meeting on Saturday, Guyana Chronicle was told that Nagamootoo appeared to have gained the nod of his party.

“There was wide, almost unanimous endorsement for Mr Nagamootoo,” well placed sources in the party disclosed.
The AFC, in its statement, would only say that “The leader also reaffirmed his confidence in the David Granger/Moses Nagamootoo leadership to guide the Coalition Government in the period ahead.”

Guyana Chronicle was told a more formal endorsement of Nagamootoo would come soon.
Nagamootoo was born in Whim Village, Corentyne, Guyana. His parents were first generation Guyana-born offspring of Indian immigrants who came from Madras.
He has worked as a teacher, a journalist and studied law and has been admitted to the bar in Guyana. Nagamootoo has been a Member of Parliament since 1992.

At a recent news conference, the AFC asserted that it is not in a weakened state at the coalition’s negotiating table, nor is it unprepared for a possible election following the no-confidence vote.
“The AFC reaffirms that the coalition remains strong and reassures all Guyanese that the party is firmly committed to the rule of law and remains Guyana’s largest multi-ethnic party, which continues to be unwavering in pursuit of representing the interest of all Guyanese,” Public Security Minister and AFC Chairman Khemraj Ramjattan said at the news conference.

He added: “We are very much prepared for an election, but we will have the elections, I understand [and] as was agreed to at the leader of the opposition and the President’s meeting when the two very important matters of court cases and GECOM’s readiness are known”.

In the meantime, the AFC said that whenever the time comes for elections, the party will contest as a coalition along with the APNU but has, individually, already begun to do its own groundwork.

“We are on outreach all across the country as we have been doing for a number of months now and that will continue; it will be even bigger this year,” he said.
Meanwhile, regarding their position as a legitimate negotiator at the coalition’s table, he added: “We will do our best at negotiating. The Cummingsburg Accord is still in existence and indeed it will be a new scenario if we have to hold elections.

Hopefully, we may not because we are fighting a case in court and I’m pretty optimistic about what the court will do; right up to the CCJ we will go if it means that. But yes, indeed, I feel that we are in a strong position. Our support base all across the country is with us and they’ve been growing in numbers.”

SOLID BACKING
Guyana Chronicle reported last week that the APNU+AFC coalition has signalled their full confidence in seeing the incumbent president, David Granger, continuing and have all endorsed him as the presidential candidate heading into the next elections.
APNU General Secretary Joseph Harmon, in a letter, said it is with a deep sense of pride “that I endorse David Arthur Granger to be the coalition’s presidential candidate for a second term.”

“This is a man who has proven over the past three and a half years to be one with great vision, capability and has a right thinking mind.
“We in the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) are confident of his candidature as we have seen the appreciation of the Guyanese electorate for the work he has done over the years,” Harmon said.

He added that Granger’s sober thinking, his advocacy for peace and development and his desire to see Guyana progress have all aided to enhance his beliefs of good governance.
“Guyanese, we need a good captain who can steer the ship ‘Guyana’ without malfeasances and corruption so that all of us can be beneficiaries of good governance and a developed country. Let us support the APNU+AFC Coalition,” Harmon, who is also minister of state, concluded.

“He’s a very upright person, very principled. No one can point a finger at him in relation to personal corruption; he’s really a model citizen, and we’ll be in support,” affirmed Working People’s Alliance (WPA) executive member, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, who said he sees no reason that his party would be swayed from President Granger as the candidate.
“I have heard nothing other than that and I am certain that there’s no plan in the party to switch from President Granger. I’ve had the advantage of knowing President Granger probably longer than anyone else in the party, since we were in school in the same house, and I feel confident that he will lead APNU+AFC coalition to victory when it comes to that.”

ENDORSEMENT
The WPA is one of several parties constituting the A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) coalition section of the government. Other parties include the People’s National Congress (PNC), National Front Alliance (NFA), Guyana Action Party (GAP), the Justice For All Party (JFAP). The APNU was formed in 2011 and then joined forces with the Alliance For Change (AFC) in 2015 to contest elections that year.

Amna Ally, General Secretary of President Granger-led party, the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR), said despite orchestrated rumours and untruths regarding his health and competence: “I, on behalf of the PNCR, would like to indicate that he is ‘fit and proppa’ for a second term and the PNCR endorses his candidature.”

Ally said the party looks forward to being under his guidance for a second term and urged Guyanese to vote for vision, development, cordiality, selfless work and enjoy the good life. Additionally, Ally said President Granger was elected unopposed at his party’s Biennial Congress last August and that the party is fully aware of his competence, his principles and his vision for Guyana.

“We are also cognisant of his discipline and in no way can be deemed as a corrupt leader. He possesses the necessary qualities that are required to be a country’s leader. He has constantly been active in cleaning up the 23 years of mess which the PPP put our country in,” Ally added.
She said Granger has been tried for the past three and a half years and has proven his competence to lead Guyana for a second term.

Leader of the NFA, Keith Scott, who is also Minister within the Ministry of Social Protection, noted that his party earlier this month took a decision to back Granger for the presidency.
“We look forward to the opportunity to reaffirm our support for him. We did have our executive meeting earlier in the year, coming out in support of that,” Scott noted. “The people of this country trust President Granger, he has the right discipline. He has been very democratic in his dealings since he has acceded to power, and that is the kind of person that we need to bring healing in this society,” said Scott.

“We are very confident that he is going to recover from his illness and give us that support,” noted Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, Sydney Allicock, leader of the Guyana Action Party (GAP). “He knows this country, he knows the needs of the people, he knows the residents and their passion for being able to live a good life. That is the driving force behind the GAP supporting him as leader. I think he’s a fair man.”

For his part, leader of the JFAP, Chandra Narine Sharma, affirmed that the party stands firmly behind the coalition government and President David Granger as the presidential candidate for the APNU+AFC slate.
“I am sticking with the coalition; Sharma is sticking with the coalition and that will not change,” the party’s leader told Guyana Chronicle on Tuesday last.